Mykolaiv Resident Sentenced to 15 Years for High Treason, Property Confiscated

The court upheld the verdict, sentencing a 39-year-old resident of Mykolaiv region to 15 years in prison with confiscation of property for high treason and dissemination of materials supporting Russian aggression against Ukraine.

This was reported by the press service of the Mykolaiv Regional Prosecutor's Office.

The Mykolaiv Court of Appeal upheld the decision of the court of first instance, upholding the verdict that sentenced a 39-year-old resident of Vradiyivka to 15 years in prison with confiscation of property for high treason and other serious crimes. According to the verdict, the man committed an encroachment on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine, as well as distributed materials supporting the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.

According to the prosecutor's evidence, the defendant used Google Maps to create cartographic materials on which he marked important objects, such as the location of the Defense Forces, checkpoints and critical infrastructure in Vradiyivka.

He passed this information to a pro-Kremlin blogger via the social network VKontakte, which could have been aided by the enemy. In addition, he repeatedly spread calls to change the borders of Ukraine, in particular, to annex Mykolaiv region to Russia, and supported those who carry out armed aggression.

The court of first instance found the man guilty under several articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine:

• under parts 1 and 2 of Article 110 (encroachment on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine),
• part 2 of Article 111 (high treason)
• Article 436-2, paragraphs 2 and 3 (dissemination of materials justifying or glorifying the armed aggression of the Russian Federation).

Accordingly, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison with confiscation of property.

Despite the defense's attempts to appeal the verdict, the appellate court upheld the prosecutor's position, leaving the verdict unchanged. The panel of judges of the Mykolaiv Court of Appeal considered the arguments of both sides and, in its decision, noted that the sentence was appropriate to the gravity of the crimes committed. The verdict came into force.

The Mykolaiv court also ruled to detain a former head of a local enterprise suspected of collaborating with the Russian occupation administration. According to the investigation, he facilitated the creation of an enterprise controlled by the invaders and organized the removal of property.

Meanwhile, the Zavodskyi District Court of Mykolaiv sentenced a local resident to 10 years in prison for illegally transmitting data on the location of the Ukrainian military during martial law.

In addition, SBU counterintelligence detained an FSB agent in Mykolaiv who was adjusting Russian air strikes on the city. The offender, a 35-year-old repeat offender, was recruited while serving a sentence in a Russian penal colony and after his release worked for the enemy in Ukraine.

Анна Бальчінос